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44 changes: 36 additions & 8 deletions sites/cheerpx/src/content/docs/11-guides/File-System-support.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -32,11 +32,39 @@ const cx = await CheerpX.Linux.create({
});
```

This mounts the specified local directory at `/web` in the CheerpX filesystem.
This will mount the specified directory at `/web` in the CheerpX filesystem. To enable listing the directory contents, CheerpX looks for an `index.list` file in the directory and any subdirectories. This file should contain a newline-separated list of all files and subdirectories within the directory.

To be able to list the files, CheerpX will look for a file called index.list in the directory and each of its subdirectories. The file should contain a newline separated list of all files and folders contained in the directory.
### Why use an `index.list` file?

### Accessing Files
The `index.list` file enables CheerpX to provide directory listing functionality in its WebDevice. It ensures seamless navigation of directories, compatibility with Linux-based tools, and support for navigating directories operations like `os.listdir()`. Since browsers restrict direct access to local files, `index.list` helps simulate a directory structure for virtual environments, making it essential for managing and accessing files effectively.

### Creating an `index.list` file

To generate an `index.list` in every directory without including it in the directory listing, use the following command:

```bash
find . -type d -exec sh -c 'cd "{}" && ls > .index.list && mv .index.list index.list' \;
```

**Explanation**:

1. `find . -type d`: This part of the command finds all directories (`-type d`) starting from the current directory (`.`).

2. `exec`: The `-exec` option runs the provided command for each directory found by `find`.

3. `sh -c 'cd "{}" && ls > .index.list && mv .index.list index.list'`:

- `sh -c`: Runs the following string as a shell command.
- `cd "{}"`: Changes the current directory to the directory being processed ({} is replaced with the directory path by find).
- `ls > .index.list`: Lists all files and directories in the current directory and writes the output to a temporary file named .index.list.
- `mv .index.list index.list`: Renames .index.list to index.list.

4. `\;`: This marks the end of the -exec command for find.

> [!warning] Warning
> Be careful when using this command. It will overwrite existing index.list files in every directory it processes. Ensure you run it only in the intended directory and back up any important data before execution. Misuse in the wrong directory could cause unintentional data loss.

### Accessing files

Files in the WebDevice are accessed relative to the current page's URL. For example, if your current page is `https://host/dir1/dir2/page.html`, then:

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -64,7 +92,7 @@ const cx = await CheerpX.Linux.create({

This setup creates a virtual filesystem at `/files` that is backed by IndexedDB.

### Reading Files from JavaScript
### Reading files from JavaScript

You can read files from an `IDBDevice` in JavaScript using the `readFileAsBlob` method:

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -115,12 +143,12 @@ const cx = await CheerpX.Linux.create({
});
```

### Adding Files
### Adding files

You can add files to a DataDevice from JavaScript using the `writeFile` method:

```javascript
await dataDevice.writeFile("/filename", "File content here");
await dataDevice.writeFile("/filename", "file content here");
```

### `dataDevice.writeFile`
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -178,15 +206,15 @@ const cx = await CheerpX.Linux.create({

This setup creates an ext2 filesystem that loads its initial data from an HTTP source and uses IndexedDB for persistent storage of changes.

### Device Configuration Options
### Device configuration options

CheerpX supports various types of devices that can be used in the OverlayDevice configuration:

1. **HttpBytesDevice**: The default choice for loading filesystem images via HTTP. Suitable for most web-hosted files.
2. **GitHubDevice**: Ideal for projects forked from the [WebVM](https://github.com/leaningtech/webvm/) repository. The Integrated GitHub Action will take care of preparing disk chunks for efficient access.
3. **OverlayDevice**: `OverlayDevice` supports chaining, making it possible to efficiently "fork" disk images while only storing the changes from previous versions.

## Best Practices
## Best practices

1. Use WebDevice for read-only access to server-side files.
2. Utilize IDBDevice for persistent storage of user data or application state.
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